Carlton is located 15 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area.

When the railway line to Hurstville was opened in 1884, large estates were subdivided and residents began moving in.

Landholders were given a block of land free if they contributed 400 pounds to finance the construction of the platform and station buildings.

Carlton is home to the St George Illawarra Dragons National Rugby League team.

The Shopfront Contemporary Arts Centre in Carlton Parade is a co-operative owned completely by young people aged 8 to 25 with an international reputation that has made Australian and overseas tours.

The next most common countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 11.3%, Nepal 5.5%, North Macedonia 3.0%, Philippines 2.9% and Greece 2.4%.